Library Journal's 150th Anniversary Coverage: Sure Bets (Part 1)

Library Journal is turning 150 this year and they have been celebrating with special coverage. One of my favorite things they have been doing is publishing lists of "Sure Bets" by genre based on  a survey they did with library workers last fall. I wrote about the survey here.

For each genre (or format) they have not only compiled the top titles, but also, they have provided a spreadsheet of every submitted title from the survey!

I need to write that last part again-- LJ did a survey of library workers from across the country and asked for their SURE BET titles across all popular reading areas and are now giving all of us access to all of the answers! 

Sure bets are a category of books that every library worker has some kind of list for. At my library we pooled our knowledge and kept a list that we could all consult. We shared with each other, but it was very informal. We all need a list of those books that would appeal to wide swath of readers, at our fingertips, that we can turn to on a moment's notice and grab a suggestion.

AND NOW WE DO THANKS TO LJ.

They are still revealing more, but here are the ones they have released so far. Remember, it goes beyond the spotlit titles, download the full lists.

• Graphic Novels
• Poetry
• Mystery 
• Suspense & Thrillers
• Romance
• Pop Fiction

Again, there are still more to come. Click here to see all of the genres which the poll covered. Please keep checking back. Later in the year, I will post more as a reminder.

Download the spreadsheets. Use them to make displays. Do the conversation starter exercise to ask your staff and patrons to add titles to the already existing spreadsheet. Get those titles up in a "Great Reads You May Have Missed" display. Consider making said display a permanent one. If you keep asking staff and patrons for their favorite reads, titles they recommend to everyone they know, etc...., you can keep expanding the spreadsheet of possible titles. And you will never run out of backlist titles to keep adding because as the new titles move into the background, those that struck a chord will make their return on you "Great Reads" display.

You can use this link to pull up all of LJ's 150th coverage. Also click here for the poll methodology.

Don't Miss But Won't I Miss Me by Tiffany Tsao

Yes the pun was intended in the title.

It is not very often that a book I know nothing about ends up completely blowing me away. The last time I can remember this happening in such a visceral way was in 2017 when I read In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson (click here for a discussion of that).

It is infrequent but it is glorious. It is a reader's high we all chase. 

A few months ago I had this experience again when I read But Won't I Miss Me by Tiffany Tsao for my April 2026 Horror Review Column in Library Journal. 

You all saw I gave it a star here, but that star was alongside books by Paul Tremblay and Nat Cassidy, so I worry that how great this book really is will get lost. So for a few weeks now, I have been planning to pair a post about this book here on the general blog with a giveaway of my ARC on the Horror blog to make sure more people see my full thoughts on this novel.

You all, I LOVED THIS BOOK. That title....read it carefully. It may seem awkward, but no, that word placement is intentional. And, as you read, you realize that and it is awesome. The plot is both on the realistic side of SF and totally horrifyingly out of this world. 

Here is the link to all of my notes with access to my draft LJ review via Goodreads. However, to make sure you actually read my thoughts and get this May 2026 release on order right now, I am posting it below as well:

This book is WOW! Great title too. Disorientation of the title, the confusion, is perfect for the story

Three Words That Describe This Book: maternal/body horror, slightly askew to our world, discomfiting

Other words: compelling from the first page, huge twist, visceral, original, thought provoking, intense, honest, "rebirth."

Draft Review: The very best speculative fiction takes readers out of their world, telling a story meant to help them grapple with the important questions staring them in their real world faces. Tsao demonstrates this in her alternative reality science fiction-body horror-thriller, asking readers to contemplate how society fails mothers, the horror of following the status quo, and most provocatively, what happens when you are your own victim? Vivi, a Chinese-Indonesian living in Australia lives in a world where human mothers not only birth a child, but they also experience their own visceral rebirth, an event that will shock and trouble readers, but here it is seen as necessary to give mothers the super human strength they need to raise children. Vivi’s rebirth had complications leaving her alone, exhausted, and with a baby to care for. Readers hang on every detail, falling easily into the world, and its complex, flawed, but sympathetic characters, never able to shake the unsettling tone set by the title, not even close to ready for the twist when it drops. A master class in storytelling that will leave readers, if not reborn, forever changed for the experience. 

Verdict: Tsao gives readers a terrifying, raw, and honest look at motherhood in the vein of horror titles like Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moutlon, Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase, The Push by Ashley Audrain.

Before I get to the set up and how the story is told I need to applaud the author and editors here. The author, for writing a story about postpartum life -- even if you don't sink to depression-- and how being a new mother is disorienting, how it changes your body, and how it can change who you are-- to yourself and others. 

The editor for NOT giving in to the urge to make this book easier on the reader. So many books I read have a "prologue" or let out key details too quickly because editors (and authors) do not trust readers to let the author tell the story and have the story come to you. This book withholds key details from the start, but they are doled out slowly. But there is always enough to keep the reader going here, even when they are not sure where the story is leading them.

This book has a huge and satisfying twist that is the level of mind-blow as Gone Girl was back in 2015 -- a different twist but on that level. And it allows everything to fall into place after.

There is a coda that the book needs. I saw it as a chance for Vivi's son to heal and understand, yes, but more importantly, for readers to also process everything they just read and all of their feelings about the book, the slightly askew world it presents, and how that makes you think about motherhood right now, in our world whether you are a child or a mother. You need a moment to reflect about everything in this book-- from the literal plot to everything it is saying about how the world treats mothers. Without that buffer/coda/space, this book would not land as well. I should be clear, it is not a sappy coda, and it DOES NOT tie up all the loose ends-- in fact it leave a huge one dangling-- but it is there to bring the reader back down and allow them to emotionally reset. Phew. Really brilliant.

Now as a horror novel-- wow! This takes the body horror of pregnancy and child birth to a whole new level of horror. 

The less you know about this book going in the better but know that this book is visceral and honest. It uses a speculative alternative reality to our world to 

It is all told from the perspective of Chinese- Indonesians who have emigrated to Australia. The cultures of all 3 are discussed. That frame was very specific and yet the story is universal. 

A great question here besides what do we owe mothers, how can we help them, how society fails them. Tsao also asks readers to contemplate-- What happens when you are your own victim? What is the price of blindly doing things the way every one does them? How hard it is to question the status quo.

Another brilliant thing about this book-- the main characters here-- none of them are all good or all bad. They are VERY morally gray and yet readers will sympathize with them all. That is hard to do.

The set up-- the less you know the better. This is an alternate reality to ours -- not near future-- parallel. In this world human mothers, after they give birth to a child, experience a rebirth. (But that rebirth is a horror story all onto its own.) The rebirth gives new mothers the super strength they need to raise new humans. They can do it all-- no sleep, no strollers. They can carry and juggle it all at once. Our protagonist and narrator Vivi well she had a "hitch" with her rebirth and it did not take. She is a disabled new mother and society has not time for that. She is our window into this world. We hear her story beginning when she leaves her husband and starts over with the help of an old family friend.

As we follow Vivi, details about this world and what she specifically went through are slowly doled out-- but not so slowly that you want to stop reading. Rather, it is just the right amount sot hat you get to know Vivi and her 2 year old son Cloud. Also it is the right speed of all of the details so that you have time to get settled into this world that is slightly family but not completely. We get flashbacks to gain more understanding. But even as things are explained, it doesn't feel 100% right. We are missing something. What is it? Ahh, once that info is dropped-- the rest of the book falls into place and you will race to the end to finish it.

I cannot stress enough how visceral and troubling the "rebirth" is both on a gross out level but also on a psychological and societal level. 

For readers of raw, visceral, physically and emotionally upsetting, thought provoking, and honest dark speculative fiction about motherhood such as Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moutlon, Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase, The Push by Ashley Audrain.

This are my thoughts on But I Won't Miss Me. Now head on over to the Horror blog and get yourself entered to win a copy of this book.

Tana French Readalikes From a Variety of Humans as an Example to Help you Find Readalikes for Any Author

Tana French is one of those authors we library workers love to suggest for a variety of reasons.

First, she writes well constructed, twisty crime stories with great characters. There are so many entry points where a reader will get hooked by her storytelling. This means we have a very wide swath of potential readers to suggest her books to. Seriously, when in doubt or when I am stuck, to the FRE shelf I go.

Second, this ability to easily suggest French is also aided by the fact that except for three books in the Cal Hooper series. All of her other books do not have to be read in any order. Yes the Dublin Murder Squad books are numbered, but they are all related stories in the same world, it does not matter in which order you read them. This means, most days you can confidently go to the shelf and find a Tana French book there for a new reader to discover.

Third, not for nothing, they are also always great on audio. Again, another place where you might find a book available immediately. For example, on my Libby, there are currently 8 French titles without a wait on audio. And one is the first Cal Hooper, the rest are various Dublin Murder Squad.

Over the years, I have not been alone in going to French when I needed a sure bet title for fans of crime, literary fiction, psychological suspense, thrillers, suspense and honestly, those who had no idea what they wanted to read as long as it was a "good read," especially for those going on vacation. The success we have all had suggesting French, means that we are starting to see readers who have exhausted all her title.

It is a good problem to have, right? We have helped to make her a must read author. 

Since the last Cal Hooper is out and there are holds lists everywhere, and because many of those on hold have already read everything else, today I am sharing some HUMAN created resources for you to use to find new pathways for French readers to follow. But I also want you to understand, these specific resources are here for you to use as an example of a pathway you can take to help any reader find readalikes for their favorite authors while they are waiting for a new title.

• Love Tana French? Read These Books Next via the NYT (gift link): What I love about this extensive list is that it probes all of the different appeal entry points who why a reader might like French and then provides books that will scratch all this different itches.
• Five Reddit lists of Tana French readalikes: Click that link and a google search will run of results from different Reddit threads across various Reddit boards. What I love about these threads is that the people all write about WHY they like French. You can really narrow down a great option for a variety of different readers.
• If You Like Tana French via Seattle Public Library: anyone can access the title list, but only their card holders can place a hold. Also this is a library example. There are many. Search the largest library near you to see if they have a list you can use to build tour own.
• Goodreads Members Who Read Tana French Also Read, a list: Not as nuanced a list but it is crowdsourced info from real reader habits. One thing I have learned, readers' brains do not follow a plot-able algorithm. Sometimes they just like what they like, and this list showcases that fact with suggestions I have not seen on other lists. Sometimes we can try to match appeal factors all day, but people just like what they like and seeing some data that supports that is enough of a reason to make the match.
• Tana French herself recommends: Author recs of other authors is one of my 5 Resources you cannot live without. Here is one example (via Elle magazine) which I found via a Google search for  "Tana French recommends"
• Click here for a Literature Map for Tana French. The closer someone's name is to hers the more likely they think it is the reader will like them. These maps are created by users in a Pandora style of gathering recs and clicks. I love to try the authors on the fringes in these cases because they are your wildcard options. There was at least one reader who made this connection. Why not explore that one with your patrons. It will give them an outside the box suggestion that they never could have found without your help. In this case, I really like the Celeste Ng option. I never would have thought of that, but I know more than a few readers who which it is SPOT ON.
• And if you have NoveList access, don't just pop the author's name in and go with only the readalike authors that come up first. (I mean you should do that first, but you can do more.) You should also play around with the appeal factors, click on a few, and see what results you get. This will expand the search from the top author hits. And then you can narrow down further from that expanded list as well.

This is just a short list of options, but I made sure to pull them from completely different spaces; from resources that use a different method, but all of which rely on human input. This way you can see the range of ways you can find readalikes as well as providing you with resources for French specifically.

Apply this logic and this breadth of human created resources to help your readers find a readalike for their favorite authors. 

Using Awards Lists As a RA Tool: National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Edition

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.

Each year one of my favorite lists is the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 list. It's not that I think you have to be young to be a great writer, but I love how writers who have won National Book Awards and even some who have have this honor get to pick the new class each year. 

More about the honor and its mission here. From that page:

In 2006, the National Book Foundation established the 5 Under 35 prize to recognize outstanding debut fiction writers under the age of 35. 5 Under 35 has identified some of the most celebrated young writers working today. Previous honorees include Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Brit Bennett, Akwaeke Emezi, Angela Flournoy, Phil Klay, Valeria Luiselli, C.E. Morgan, Téa Obreht, ZZ Packer, Karen Russell, Justin Torres, Bryan Washington, Claire Vaye Watkins, Tiphanie Yanique, and Charles Yu. 

5 Under 35 honorees are selected by authors who have been recognized by either the National Book Awards or 5 Under 35 itself. To be eligible for the prize, writers must have published their first and only book of fiction—either a story collection or a novel—within the last five years. Honorees are chosen at the discretion of the selectors; as such, publishers cannot nominate an honoree or submit a book for consideration.

This year’s honorees are Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, author of Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare (Bloomsbury); Anika Jade Levy, author of Flat Earth (Catapult); Carrie R. Moore, author of Make Your Way Home (Tin House); Maggie Su, author of Blob: A Love Story (Harper); and Stephanie Wambugu, author of Lonely Crowds (Little, Brown).

Links for the titles line up with the links provided on the landing page. 

I love this list for its RA Service implications and for what you can learn and use from the backlist. Below I explain why you should like and use this list all year long too.

First, this list is awesome. It is not just the young authors who are being highlighted, the established authors who selected each of them are also a great resource. You get 10 suggested authors from this 5 person list. 

Which leads to second, the established authors are your conversation starter and readalike stepping stone. So when you see: 

2026 5 Under 25 nominee Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su nominated by Charles Yu, the author of four books, including Interior Chinatown, winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. In 2007, he was selected to be a 5 Under 35 Honoree by Richard Powers. 

You are literally seeing how this award works. Yu was selected by Richard Powers, he went on to sin the National Book Award, and now he is in turn picking a new author to keep the cycle going. Proven authors suggesting new authors.

Now you can confidently suggest Maggie Su's Blob to fans of Charles Yu and Richard Powers. This fits in with one of my "5 Resources You Cannot Live Without" from my 10 Rules of Basic RA page-- Author Recs of Other Authors. Click here for a longer post where I explain why authors recommending other authors is a near perfect readalike option. 

Third, the backlist is amazing. Seriously. Even more amazing than backlists usually are, and many of you know how excited I get about the backlist in general. As you can see from just the point above this one, I got 2 backlist authors from one current nominee. But wait, there's more.

From the landing page for this year's winners, you can easy go backward, year by year, with a drop down menu. I scanned many of the lists and WOW, did they identify some amazing authors who are household names now.  Yes, there are a few who haven't broke through, but it is amazing how many have. You can easily use the backlist list of winners to help readers identify good under the radar reads, especially for your literary fiction and book club selection readers. You can also make a display of current and past winners.

I know some people will say, Becky these authors are emerging and at my library I can barely afford to get the established authors. But it would be a mistake to ignore these "emerging voices" for many reasons-- 3 of which I gave you here. 

Don't sleep on new voices. They will have wide appeal on their own AND you can use establish  authors to match them with readers through displays, verbal suggestions, or even by pairing them as the website does. 

Today's new voices are our future best sellers. And some of these authors, like Su with her novel, Blob: A Love Story, are already well on their way. 

Welcome to National Library Week and EveryLibrary's New Resource You Have to Checkout

Click this image to enter the National
Library Week landing page

 

Welcome to National Library Week, an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries and library professionals play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.

Click here to to enter the ALA's National Library Week and access the toolkit to celebrate.

Also, click here for the State of America's Libraries 2025 Report.

Now look, I know in libraries we started preparing for National Library Week months in advance, but I am posting here, today, as it begins for a few reasons.

One, be aware that your patrons are getting information about National Library Week from across the media spectrum. Michael Threets and people from the ALA will be on TV, radio, newspapers, and all over their social media feeds. 

Two, know the official messaging by familiarizing yourself with the official page. Know this messaging because you will hear it repeated by the people who visit. Be familiar with what they are going to be hearing and make sure you are ready to respond.

Three, there will be new people interacting with the library this week. People who are not library users will become our audience. Please remember that many people are sure how today's library works. They might be surprised by how vibrant and (quite honestly) loud our spaces are. Make sure you are explaining how things work clearly. Don't use abbreviations and lingo Clearly explain every step. You might think Libby is easy, for example, but to someone who is coming to the library the first time in many years, even if they use things like Kindle and Audible, it is a completely different platform and a completely different mentality with how to use it. Remember, the idea of waiting for items and finding something else while you wait is not something non-library users are used to. 

They also aren't used to the pre-paid nature of library use. And that is point four. Don't tell them your services are free. Library services and materials are all PREPAID. Everyone coming in has already paid for what you are offering. Remind them of that. NEVER tell them it is free because that is NOT true. Every single person in your community has paid for their library whether they use it or not. Applaud them for getting their money's worth. Remind them of the amazing return on investment (ROI), but NEVER, EVER tell them it is free. 

[I have a much longer post about this here.]

So that is why you need to know about National Library Week going into today. 

National Library Week is also a time that other groups announce new initiatives, and EveryLibrary has a really good one. Read. Lead. Run. From the landing page:

Libraries are among the most trusted public institutions in the United States, yet the policies that shape their future are set by elected officials. City councils decide local budgets. School boards determine whether certified school librarians are funded. State legislatures write the laws that protect or restrict intellectual freedom. Congress determines federal investment in literacy, broadband access, and national library programs.

Here’s why this matters: nearly 70% of races in the United States go unopposed. That means too many decisions about libraries are being made without champions like you in the room. When library supporters run for office, we change what’s possible for funding, access, and the future of our communities.

You already believe in libraries. Now it’s time to lead.

When readers and library supporters like you step into leadership roles, they bring the values of access, curiosity, and service to the heart of government, helping shape the future of their communities.

That's why people like you need to run for office today!

EveryLibrary helps public, school, and college libraries win funding at the ballot box, ensuring stable funding and access to libraries for generations to come. We also support grassroots groups across the country defend and support their local library against book banning, illicit political interference, and threats of closure. So it makes sense that their next step is to help Library supports run for Boards.

As someone who ran for my Library Board and was elected 6 times, and as someone who has taken the time to inspire others to run (more than I can count on 1 hand are currently serving), I wholeheartedly support this.

Please visit Read. Lead. Run and think about how you can take the next step to be part of the solution. Democracy requires average people step up and lead. What are you waiting for? Help and advice? Well now you have it. 

Celebrate Nation Library Week for yourself (not just your patrons) by seriously considering how you can take the next step in your support of your local school or public library. Read. Lead. Run.

New Pew Research Report on Reading Habits Is Great, Yes, But Don't Sleep On All of Their Reports

The Pew Research Center is a great resource for information about how American interact with their world on a variety of topics, and their reports are always FREE. From their "About" page:

Pew Research Center is made up of intellectually curious people from across many fields, places and backgrounds. For decades, our expertise, best-in-class methods and commitment to high-quality, fact-based research have made us a trusted resource for leaders and everyday people around the world.  

Our mission

We generate a foundation of facts that enriches public dialogue and supports sound decision-making. We are nonprofit, nonpartisan and nonadvocacy. We value independence, objectivity, accuracy, rigor, humility, transparency and innovation. 

What do we mean by nonprofit? We are funded from charitable dollars. All our resources serve our mission. We do not do any work for hire. 

What do we mean by nonpartisan? We maintain strict impartiality and never align with any political group, candidate or ideology.

What do we mean by nonadvocacy? We study people’s views and behaviors without an agenda. We don’t make policy recommendations or offer solutions. We design our work to explain the public, rather than try to persuade.

Read more about our mission.  

Our research

We study a wide range of topics.

We decide what to study based on questions people are asking, changes happening in the world and gaps where clear information is hard to find. We focus on areas where our expertise, resources and intellectual curiosity can help people better understand the world around them.   

We take our responsibility to inform the public seriously. Every step of our work goes through multiple layers of review to ensure it is high quality and fact based. We share our data and survey questions so that all can see the process and how we arrived at our results.   

Our methods

We ask thousands of people of various ages, ethnicities and backgrounds to share what they think in a survey. We listen to what they say about jobs, politics, religion, education, health and more. We bring those voices together and summarize everything we hear. Before we publish anything, our work goes through several rounds of careful review to make sure it upholds our commitment to high-quality, fact-based research.    

Read more about our methods. 

Click through to read the entire page.

They have frequently turned their inquiries to topics surrounding books and reading, and this month they released one of those reports entitled, "Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions; few are in book clubs" at this link.

Please click through and read the entire report because there is A LOT you can learn here, and quite honestly, only you know which parts speak to your local experience, but a few highlights include:

• Print continues to be the only book format used by a majority of Americans.Roughly two-thirds of adults say they have read a physical book in the past 12 months, according to our October survey.
• Much smaller shares say they have read an e-book or listened to an audiobook in the past year.
• While most Americans have read at least one book in the past year, how many they read varies widely. As of October 2025:
• 38% of U.S. adults say they read one to five books in the past year
• 13% read six to 10
• 10% read 11 to 20
• 14% read more than 20
• And 25% of Americans say they read none.
• [Becky addition here: this is sayin 75% of Americans read 1 book!]

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.

Please click through and especially look at the analysis and methodology which I linked to immediately above this line. It is at the end of the report. 

And finally, don't sleep on the older reports they have done on books and reading. You can access some of them in the right gutter of the report. But also use the menu bar to explore many of their other reports. Remember, we are serving readers and their likes and interests in general are driven by more than their reading habits. Since the Pew Research Center's reports are driven by intellectual curiosity and then focus on human behavior, there is a lot you can learn from many of their reports*

Don't keep your head stuck in a book. We need to be intellectually curious in order to best serve our patrons, to anticipate things they might be interested in by exploring the world outside of books. Go visit the Pew Research Center to stoke that curiosity, find out what Americans in general are thinking about, discover how they act, and then use that knowledge to think about how you are delivering your RA Service in a way that reflects actual behavior.

*This is also why AI cannot do our job. I wrote about this in more detail here.)

PW Summer Reads 2026: An Epic Year Round Resource

The PW Summer Reads 2026 database is now live! Always the first one of the year to pop up, PW's Summer Reads is also one  of the best YEAR ROUND Resources hands down. Why? Well let's start with a screen shot of the main page.

The PW Summer Reads database is more than the sum of its parts, those parts being the wide swath of categories offered. Every genre, nonfiction, and books for kids of all ages, each has their own tab with picks.

As you can see, they also make backlist access of every Summer Reads and year end Best Books list going back to 2012 easily accessible from the top of the page.

Let that sink in.... EVERY SINGLE SUMMER READS AND PW YEAR END BEST LIST IN ONE PLACE. This is AWESOME!

Nowhere will you find a resource that puts this many "sure bet" options in front of you so easily. There are literally hundreds of titles here, at your fingertips, both old and new, that you can confidently suggest to readers immediately. And so many readers. Readers who read across all age levels [down to infants] and in just about every genre. 

And, since every title is annotated, you also have a book talk [or annotation] for each title right there. You don't have to have read the book to suggest it. [Reminder: Use the Words of Others.]

I could keep gushing about how much I love this resource but I would rather you played around with it yourself.

Click through, check out the upcoming titles, but also look back at older titles, read the annotations, check genres you love and those you don't normally read, especially those you don't normally read because you will learn much about the current state of that genre [trends, popular authors] this year and by going back a few years. You can literally watch trends as they happened. You can both get access to some great sure bet suggestions AND brush up on your genre knowledge all in one place.

Spend some time really getting to know this resource. And then use it-- all of it-- including past years and both summer and year end lists-- to make your own lists for your readers. Make displays and lists [online and in the building], make suggested reading lists by genre, by year, by whatever you want. Just embrace the wealth of information available to you with one click and help readers in ways they would not think to help themselves.

Proof reading this post before publishing it, I realize how many times I am repeating myself about using the entirety of the information that PW is making available here, but I also know from years of suggesting this resource to people that you don't always listen to me. And so, I will keep beating this drum of using best lists all year long and especially checking the backlist until I run out of breath [or strength to type].

Go check out this database of "sure bet" reads for any season, and keep it bookmarked for use anytime you need a solid suggestion [especially for those hard to satisfy readers].

It is NOT just for Summer.

LibraryReads: May 2026

      

 It's LibraryReads day and that means four things here on RA for All

1. I post the list and tag it “Library Reads” so that you can easily pull up every single list with one click.
2. I can remind you that even though the newest list is always fun to see, it is the older lists where you can find AWESOME, sure bet suggestions for patrons that will be on your shelf to actually hand to them right now. The best thing about LibraryReads is the compound interest it is earning. We now have hundreds and hundreds of titles worth suggesting right at our fingertips through this archive OR the sortable master list allowing you to mix and match however you want.
3. You have no excuse not to hand sell any LibraryReads titles because there is a book talk right there in the list in the form of the annotation one of your colleagues wrote for you. All you have to say to your patron is, “such and such library worker in blank state thought this was a great read,” and then you read what he or she said.
4. Every upcoming book now has at least 1 readalike that is available to hand out RIGHT NOW. Book talk the upcoming book, place a hold for it, and then hand out that readalike title for while they wait. If they need more titles before their hold comes in, use the readalike title to identify more readalike titles. And then keep repeating. Seriously, it is that easy to have happy, satisfied readers.

So get out there and suggest a good read to someone today. I don’t care what list or resource you use to find the suggestion, just start suggesting books.

Please remember to click here for everything you need to know about how to participate. 

And finally, here is LibraryReads' extremely helpful Resources page.

Now let's get to the May 2026 list.... 

McAllister, Gillian    

Caller Unknown        

William Morrow    

Simone comes to Texas from the UK to visit her daughter, Lucy. Lucy is kidnapped, and the perpetrators force Simone into trafficking drugs into Mexico for Lucy’s safe return. When a confrontation goes wrong, Lucy and Simone are reunited, but are suddenly on the run from the law. The story is breathtaking, and readers will constantly be on edge, wondering if and when the pair will be caught—and what the consequences will be. 

--Cari Dubiel, Twinsburg Public Library, OH

NoveList read-alike: Mother, May I by Joshilyn Jackson

Now the rest of the list...

Bannister, Ilona    

Five: A Novel    

Crown    

Five strangers meet at a train station, but only four will leave alive. Readers are challenged to predict the victim from among a cast of flawed, unlikable characters whose backstories are unexpectedly gripping. This thought-provoking thriller is an ideal book club pick that will spark a different debate for every reader.

--Marika Zemke, Commerce Twp Community Library, MI 

NoveList read-alike: 59 Minutes by Holly Seddon

Cassidy, Nat    

 I Know A Place        

Shortwave Publishing   

Nat Cassidy is one of horror's more unique voices. This short story collection is terrifying and filled with relatable characters. These wild, grim, violent stories unfold as if the author has sidled up to you at a bar and started sharing them. And you simply can't stop listening.

--Lila Denning, St Petersburg Library System, FL 

NoveList read-alike: Midnight Somewhere by Johnny Compton

Damoff, Sarah    

The Burning Side        

Simon & Schuster     

April and Leo’s marriage is already on the brink when a devastating fire levels their home. Forced to retreat to April’s childhood house with their two children, they must navigate generational trauma and deep-seated grief alongside her parents and siblings. Amidst the literal and figurative ashes, the couple struggles to determine if their relationship is worth salvaging.

--Emily Orth, Surprise Public Library, AZ

NoveList read-alike: The Heart of Winter by Jonathan Evison

Dinniman, Matt   

A Parade of Horribles        

Ace 

Coming in off the back of a fast paced, complex, and scope-changing Book 7, Book 8 reminds readers of the horrible truth of the Dungeon: for all of their drive and cleverness, Carl and Princess Donut are still just a man and his talking cat trapped in an AI-controlled game that is trying to kill them. This interesting shift in scope and pacing reminds readers of the players' predicament.

--Aaron Mason, Radford Public Library, VA       

NoveList read-alike: Delicious in Dungeon series by Ryoko Kui

Holt, Katie    

The Last Page       

Alcove Press     

Ella thinks she’s going to inherit the used bookstore where she has worked for years, but is devastated when a grandson shows up as the new owner. Now they must put aside their rivalry, and their off-the-charts chemistry, to save the store. The characters' clever book reviews at the start of every chapter also serve to carry the plot forward.

--Migdalia Jimenez, Chicago Public Library, IL

NoveList read-alike: Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Sepetys, Ruta    

A Fortune of Sand: A Novel   

Ballantine Books  

When Marjorie, the youngest of the Lennox family, covertly applies for and is accepted into an artists’ residency in Detroit run by an appealing but secretive benefactor, she finds both inspiration and compelling secrets. Intriguing family, deeply buried secrets, and cons-within-cons abound in this Prohibition Era Detroit novel, set among the monied families with ties to the growing car industry.

 --Jessica Trotter, Capital Area District Libraries, MI 

NoveList read-alike: Crucible by John Sayles

Stockett, Kathryn   

The Calamity Club       

Spiegel & Grau    

In Depression-era Mississippi, a girl trapped in a Dickensian orphanage, and a young woman trying to lift her family out of financial ruin cross paths. Young Meg feels trapped and Birdy is faced with family issues that run deep. This dual-narrated story is totally engrossing, and readers will be rooting for the characters.

--Donna Ballard, East Meadow Public Library, NJ Ambassador 

NoveList read-alike: The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows

Stuart, Douglas    

John of John        

Grove Atlantic    

Aimless art student Cal returns to his isolated Scottish home, forced to navigate his grandmother’s illness and a community that won’t accept his sexuality. The story leans into incredible dialogue and raw, evolving relationships with complicated people readers can't help but care about.

--Magan Szwarek, LibraryReads Ambassador, IL

NoveList read-alike: Family Meal by Bryan Washington

van Veen, Johanna    

Bone of My Bone        

Poisoned Pen Press    

 

Sister Ursula, a nun fleeing brutal soldiers in 1635, meets Elsebeth, a peasant surviving the Thirty Years’ War. They escape into the Bavarian forest, experiencing the horrors of the undead while followed by a necromancer. This atmospheric, haunting folk horror read is told from multiple points of view.

--Kristin Skinner, Flat River Community Library, MI

NoveList read-alike: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus

Board Bonus pick:

Lee, Fonda    

The Last Contract of Isako        

Orbit   

Notable Nonfiction: 

Barnett, Mac    

Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children    

Little, Brown and Company   

See our social media for annotations of the bonus picks

Click here to see the entire Hall of Fame

The LibraryReads Hall of Fame designation honors authors who have had multiple titles appear on the monthly LibraryReads list since 2013. When their third title places on the list via library staff votes, the author moves into the Hall of Fame. Click here to see the Hall of Fame authors organized in alpha order. Please note, the current year's Hall of Fame lists are pulled out at the top of the page.

Center, Katherine    

The Shippers        

St. Martin's Press    

Finlay, Alex    

The Anniversary

Minotaur Books    

Fortune, Carley    

Our Perfect Storm       

Berkley    

Gailey, Sarah    

Make Me Better       

Tor Books    

Haig, Matt    

The Midnight Train: A Novel    

Viking    

McFadden, Freida    

The Divorce        

Poisoned Pen Press    

Monaghan, Annabel    

Dolly All the Time        

G.P. Putnam's Sons    

Painter, Lynn    

First and Forever        

Berkley    

Roberts, Nora    

The Final Target        

St. Martin's Press    

Roth, Veronica    

Seek the Traitor's Son        

Tor Books    

Strout, Elizabeth    

The Things We Never Say: A Novel    

Random House    

Wells, Martha    

Platform Decay        

Tor Books